Monterey >> After receiving 309 percent of its normal February rainfall, the city of Monterey says Dennis the Menace Playground will not reopen in time for spring break.

“We were shooting to beat the spring break, so the park would be available for the kids,” said Lori Lynn Williamson, Monterey’s construction project manager. “Unfortunately, Mother Nature’s not cooperating.”

The city hoped to have the playground open March 18, after it closed Jan. 23 for sidewalk upgrades.

“We have a completion date now on the schedule, that the contractor submitted, of April 7,” Williamson said.

Williamson said a day of heavy rain sometimes caused multiple-day delays in the work.

“Some days if it rains enough that it saturates the ground, even a sunny day right after the rain is not workable,” she said. “(The storms have) significantly delayed the project.”

The upgrades are a continuation of two neighborhood improvement projects by the city. Williamson said most of the work being done is to bring pathways into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“They’re taking the opportunity while the park’s out of commission to do a couple other little projects there to improve some of the existing features,” Williamson said.

Most of the other facilities in the El Estero Park complex will remain open with normal hours. The El Estero snack bar will stay open weekdays with reduced hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The parking lot will stay open, with reduced spaces available.

The work at Dennis the Menace Playground this winter follows last winter’s $170,000 renovation to the neighboring Monterey Skate Park at the El Estero Park complex.